Traditional Healers

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Traditional Healers Approach to Malaria
Treatment
AFRICA HERBAL ANTIMALARIA MEETING

• By
• TOGBEGA DR. DABRA VI
• (PHARMACIST, TRADITIONAL/ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
  CONSULTANT, PARAMOUNT CHIEF AND PRESIDENT/CEO OF
  PROMETRA GHANA NGO).

ICRAF NAIROBI, KENYA, 20 22 MARCH, 2006
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INTRODUCTION

• Malaria affects over 500 million people and kills
  more than two million each year. Africa is most
  affected by malaria. With malaria, one African
  dies very 30 seconds.
• From time immemorial, Traditional Healers have
  been treating and managing malaria and other
  fevers with effective herbal medicine in Africa.
• It is now clear that, some orthodox antimalarials
  such as Chloroquine have become ineffective in
  the treatment of malaria. For this reason, WHO
  has recommended ArtemisininAmodiaquine
  combination for the treatment of malaria in
  Africa.
• Even during the Chloroquine therapy days, African
  healers were still treating malaria with their
  herbal remedies. Combination treatment of malaria
  and other diseases is not a new thing to the
  African Traditional Healer. That is what the
  healer is used to. However, the Traditional
  Healer does not combine herbs with chemicals. He
  will always caution his patient that When taking
  this herbal medication, do not take any orthodox
  medicine concurrently! Therefore, in looking
  for combination therapy for malaria, it is
  necessary to consult the African Healers for the
  combination therapies they employ effectively in
  malaria treatment.

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Traditional Medicine Clinic / Centre

• In Ghana, Traditional Medicine practice has
  come of age especially in the big towns and
  cities. One can easily walk into Herbal
  Clinics/Centers' which are well equipped with
  modern laboratories and very hygienic environment
  and get treatment comparable to Orthodox
  treatment.

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The Laboratory with some equipments
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MALARIA SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

• The signs and symptoms of Malaria that the Healer
  normally looks for include
• Chills and Headaches that come and go
• High temperature
• General weakness
• Loss of appetite
• Bodily pains
• Feverish conditions that reoccurs every 2 or 3
  days
• Nausea
• Patient looking pale
• Heavily sweating etc.

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Treatment

• First Aid / Supportive treatment options
• (i) Cold bath or Sponging to reduce the
  temperature
• (ii) Neem leaves steam inhalation and bath
• (iii) Eucalyptus leaves steam inhalation and bath
• Herbal Remedies treatment options for Malaria
• (iv) Pawpaw leaves, Neem leaves/Bitter leaves,
  boiled together in water and cooled.
• 30mls taken 3 x daily x 7 days
• Cryptolepis roots boiled in water, cooled and
  sieved.
• 30mls to be taken 2 x daily x 7 days.

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Products used for treatment and management of
malaria

• Some of the products used for treatment and
  management of malaria include
• Nasra Tablets,
• Malaherb Capsules/Mixture
• Apamal Mixture
• Nibima
• Herbaquine
  
• Alomal Mixture
• Phyto-Laria Tea

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Nutritional Supplements

• You cannot talk of treating Malaria without food
  supplements.
• The following products have been found to be
  beneficial in treatment and management of malaria
  and other fevers.
• Fruit juices
• Vegetable juice
• Pepper soups with spices and
• Moringa powder

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WHY COMBINATION THERAPY BY THE HEALER?

• Indigenous /Traditional Science found out in
  several years of experience in practice that in
  some cases it is only by combining certain herbs
  in a remedy that the healing expected can be
  achieved.
• Each medicinal plant employed in the combination,
  helps to clear one or more of the symptoms and
  hence the final preparation/product heals the
  patient completely.

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Selected Plants and their Medicinal Uses

• Examples of some Medicinal Plants used as
  Constituents/Ingredients in the antimalarial
  preparations but which may not have direct
  parasiticidal effect on the plasmodium parasites.

Botanical Names Common Names Local Names Use
1 Alstonia boonei (f Ampocynaceae) Pattern wood, Stool wood Siaketekre, Nyame dua Antipyretic, Antirheumatic, Antimalarial, Antimicrobial
2 Vernonia amygdalina (f Compositae) Bitter Leaf Gboti, Awonwene Antipyretic, Analgesic, For upper respiratory tract infection
3 Piper guineense (f Piperaceae) West African black pepper Kale, Surowisa Treatment of cough
4 Cryptolepis sanguinolenta (f Piperaceae) Ghana quinine Kadze, Nibima Antimalarial, Anti-inflammatory, Antimicrobial
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Botanical Names Common Names Local Names Use
5 Zanthoxyhum zanthoxyloides (f Rutacea) Candle wood, Zanthoxylum Xe, Okanto Analgesic
6 Zingiber Officinale (f Zingiberaceae) Ginger Nkrawusa, Akakaduru Febrifuge For cough and joint pains
7 Cymbopogon citratus (f Graminae) Lemon Grass Tigbe, Ti-ahaban Febrifuge, Antirheumatic
8 Citrus auranfifolia (f Rutaceae) Lime Leaf Mumoe, Akankaa Febrifuge (for steam inhalation)
9 Lippia multiflora (f Verbenaceae) Bush tea Afudoti, Saanunum Febrifuge
10 Khaya senegalensis (f Meliaceae) Mahogany bark Logo, Kuntunkuri Febrifuge, analgesic, haematinic
11 Momordica charantia (f Cucurbitaceae) African cucumber, Bitter melon, Bitter cucumber, Bitter gourd Kakle, Nyinya Febrifuge
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Botanical Names Common Names Local Names Use
12 Nuclea latifolia (f Rubiaceae) African peach, Guinea peach, Country fig, Negro peach Nyimo, Owentin Febrifuge, antipyretic
13 Azadiracta indica (f Meliaceae) Nim, Neem, Indian lilac Liliti, Dua gyane Antimalarial, anti-inflammatory, anti-pruritic
14 Cassia occidentalis (F Caesalpinaceae) Negro Coffee Devidevikpelimu, Mmofraborodee Febrifuge
15 Ocimum gratissimum (f Labiatae) Fever plant, Fever leaf, tea bush, Mosquito plant Bebusui, Onunum Febrifuge
16 Morinda lucida (f Rubiaceae) Morinda Ake, Okonkroma Febrifuge, antimalarial, fever
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Modern Scientific Research

• Most of these Medicinal Plants/herbs used in the
  treatment of Malaria are undergoing scientific
  research in Ghana as well as some other African
  countries. This is to help promote wider use of
  the most effective herbal antimalarials.
• Some of the healers are co-operating with the
  research scientists by submitting their
  preparations to the Research Centres for
  evaluation.

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PREVENTION

• The Traditional Healer, apart from being a
  physician, he is also a counsellor. He
  understands perfectly the old adage which says,
  Prevention is better than cure.
• In the case of Malaria patient after he/she
  recovers the healer advises him/her on the
  following
• Using mosquito nets when sleeping.
• Keeping his or her surroundings clean and clears
  of old cans, stagnant water and all breeding
  places of mosquito.
• Avoiding mosquito bites by applying mosquito
  herb/plant ointment on the skin when outside the
  room during evenings/nights
• Burning lime/lemon/orange peels/mosquito plant on
  charcoal in the room with windows and doors
  closed at least for one or two hours. Remove and
  open windows at least one hour before going to
  bed.

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NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE AND HERBAL
MEDICINE

• Ghana has launched National Health Insurance
  Scheme.
• Essential Drugs List (orthodox) is in place.
  Users of theses drugs on the list have their
  treatment covered by the scheme.
• Through advocacy for Herbal Medicine to be
  covered by the scheme, a committee has been put
  in place to come out with a list of Herbal
  Medicines which have been scientifically
  evaluated at the research institution and
  registered by the Food and Drugs Board.
• When this Essential Certified Herbal Medicine
  List is drawn, users of these medicines who are
  subscribers to the scheme will also enjoy the
  benefit of the scheme just as users of the
  Orthodox medicine will enjoy.

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TRAINING

• Traditional Healers are manufacturers as well as
  clinicians. There is therefore the need for
  capacity building of healers by way of training
  to equip them with skills to improve upon their
  practice.
• PROMETRA Ghana NGO with support from UNDP New
  York has trained some members of the Traditional
  Medicine Manufacturers Union in the areas of
• Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)
• Standardisation and Quality Control of Herbal
  Medicines.
• Some selected Herbal Medicine Clinicians will
  also be trained this year as soon as funds are
  available.
• The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and
  Technology (KNUST) has started B.Sc. course in
  Herbal Medicine. The first batch of these Herbal
  Medicine Doctors graduated last academic year.
  This, I must admit is a positive development

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CONCLUSION

• I wish to state that co-ordinated evaluation of
  the various Herbal/Medicinal Plants used by our
  healers in Africa can lead to safe and effective
  herbal antimalarials capable of solving the
  malaria menace in Africa and the World.
• Healers, Research Scientists, Orthodox doctors
  need to work together in the development of our
  herbal medicines and in this case Herbal
  Anti-Malarials.